Cytometry of Mass for Murine Immunoprofiling

Mass cytometry or cytometry by time-of-flight (CyTOF) is a multi-parametric analytical tool that is commonly used for simultaneous detection of more than 50 markers present either on the surface or inside the cytoplasm or nucleus of the cell. It utilizes metal-tagged antibodies and offers numerous advantages over traditional immunophenotyping techniques like flow cytometry, such as minimal overlap between channels and near zero background cellular signal. CyTOF is widely used for global immunoprofiling aimed at identification of biomarkers during cancer prevention clinical and preclinical studies that can further aid in the development of early detection markers and preventive strategies. In this unit, we describe the staining protocols and analytical tools for performing suspension CyTOF.